FBI Director Christopher Wray has announced that he will leave his position at the end of the current administration. He will leave the agency ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next month.
He announced this on Wednesday during a town hall with FBI employees.
“After weeks of careful consideration, I have decided that it is best for the agency to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then resign,” he said. “My goal is to keep the focus on our mission – the essential work you do every day on behalf of the American people. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the agency deeper into the fray, while upholding the values and principles that are so important to the way we do our work.”
“It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: This isn’t easy for me,” Wray continued. “I love this place, I love our mission, and I love our people – but my focus is, and always has been, on us and on doing what’s right for the FBI.”
The president-elect welcomed Wray’s announcement in a social media post, calling it “a great day for America.”
Trump appointed Wray – a former federal prosecutor and counterterrorism official – as FBI director in 2017 for a 10-year term thereafter Fire James Comey. Wray has since come under fire from Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill for the FBI’s handling of the investigation into the newly elected president. He has remained director under President Biden, but Trump previously said he planned to oust Wray and replace him with Kash Patel, a former Republican Party congressional staffer who was tapped by Trump for positions in the Defense Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence during his first term.
Wray told the FBI’s rank and file, “We’re not on any side… We’re on the side of the American people,” and on “the side of the Constitution,” adding that “no matter what is happening out there, in here, we must remain committed to doing our job the right way every time – with accuracy and integrity.”
FBI directors are appointed for 10-year terms, which is traditionally intended to ensure that the position is shielded from political considerations. But presidents have the power to fire and appoint directors at their discretion, and many FBI directors have not completed their terms. The Senate must also vote to confirm a president’s nominee for FBI director.
Wray’s announcement paves the way for Patel to lead the FBI during Trump’s second term. Patel met with senators at the Capitol who will vote on his nomination.
Wray and the FBI leadership became the target of Trump’s ire in 2022, when FBI agents executed a court-authorized police officer. search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. The search revealed an ongoing federal investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents after he left office. The investigation culminated in criminal charges against Trump filed by special counsel Jack Smith, but these have since been dismissed by a federal judge. Trump pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.
If confirmed, Patel would be the third FBI director to serve under the Trump administration, taking over the nation’s top federal law enforcement apparatus amid years of intense criticism from Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill. While Wray’s departure was largely expected, Trump’s announcement that he planned to nominate Patel for the position led to speculation among federal law enforcement officials about whether Wray would resign or remain in his post ahead of Trump’s inauguration .
Wray took over the post after Trump fired then-director James Comey, in part because of the FBI investigation into the 2016 election that resulted in Robert Mueller’s appointment as special counsel for that case. Comey, who has since become an outspoken critic of the newly elected president, found himself at odds with Democrats and Republicans after leaving the FBI’s top job.
Since his appointment in 2017, Wray has spent much of his tenure on internal affairs such as agent recruitment and national security issues, including countering China’s spy campaigns. He sounded the alarm about foreign attempts to attack American infrastructure and warned of aggressive attitudes from Iran and Russia.
The FBI employs approximately 35,000 people – including thousands of field agents – charged with enforcing federal law and investigating crimes across the country, including terrorism, espionage and child exploitation.
Patel, who could soon be Wray’s replacement, has been outspoken in his criticism of the federal agency and has said he would implement sweeping reforms and seek retribution for Trump. media that lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig the presidential election.”
In his remarks, Wray reminded bureau officials that working at the FBI “means investigating without fear or favor… and it means not investigating if the prediction is not there.”
Patel would report directly to the attorney general of the United States — Trump’s current pick for the post is former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi.
Trump’s announcement that he planned to nominate 44-year-old Patel as FBI director drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill and some former officials from Trump’s first term.
John Bolton, who served as national security adviser during Trump’s first term and was Patel’s boss, compared the appointment to Joseph Stalin’s secret police chief.
“Fortunately, the FBI is not” Stalin’s secret police, Bolton said. “The Senate should reject this nomination 100-0,” a response that drew backlash from Trump allies and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.
But Republicans on Capitol Hill seemed open to the choice, arguing he could bring change to the FBI.
